Matthew Cohen couldn’t believe the DC National Guard was offering up its soldiers to help with a neighborhood clean-up.
“To have the National Guard come to our neighborhood to help pick up litter is absurd,” said Cohen, an advisory neighborhood commissioner, one of Washington’s hyper-local elected officials in the city’s low crime Northwest.
But he could use the help.
So long as thousands of soldiers had standing orders from President Donald Trump to remain on duty in the capital, Cohen wondered, what was the harm if his community took them up on the offer?
Troops that deployed to the city in August were meant to combat what Trump called a crime emergency. Groups of camouflage-clad soldiers have since become a familiar presence, pacing the underground platforms of Metro stations in the city’s downtown, along the marble halls of Union Station and at the National Mall, home to the Washington’s popular monuments.
Soldiers have also been spotted in parks carrying out tasks typically assigned to gardeners and landscapers – shoveling mulch, blowing leaves and scooping up trash.
Now, the DC National Guard is asking city leaders if they might help with local “beautification” projects. This tender offer comes amid protests against Trump’s takeover of the city under the banner of “Free DC” and the Guard’s own assessments that its deployment prompted “alarm and indignation” among residents.
The Guard may have worn out its welcome, but soldiers were still assigned to the region.
Trump has said the ongoing military presence in the capital – coupled with his takeover of the local police force and surge of immigration agents – has made crime in the city a thing of the past.
“Over the last year, it was a very unsafe place. Over the last 20 years, actually, it was very unsafe, and now it’s got virtually no crime,” Trump said of Washington as he stood on a corner of the city’s downtown on Sept. 9. “We call it crime-free.”
Trump’s emergency declaration allowing him to seize control of police expired Sept. 10, but the National Guard deployment won’t wrap up until Nov. 30, and it could be extended further.
The takeover remains widely unpopular among Washington residents – some 80% oppose it, according to a Washington Post poll.
DC Guard accepting pitches for ‘beautification’ projects
What else could the soldiers do?
In a letter sent to local leaders Sept. 8, Marcus Hunt, the director of the DC National Guard, asked for “help in identifying projects or initiatives” where guardsmen can pitch in on “neighborhood beautification efforts.”
“While our ability to support painting is limited, our teams are well positioned to contribute manpower for clean-up and improvement projects,” Hunt wrote, according to a copy obtained by USA TODAY.
“Most importantly, we want to do this together with the community – building relationships and strengthening the bond between the guard and the community we proudly serve.”
Hunt told USA TODAY the response to the email had been “positive.”
However, local leaders in Washington said they felt torn between their constituents’ opposition to the deployment and the opportunity to recruit military help with sometimes long-neglected community projects.
Cohen, who represents a neighborhoods near American University, decided it would be OK to engage with the soldiers: “If the National Guard wants to clean graffiti or beautify federal parks in our neighborhood, I don’t think anybody is going to oppose that, even if we think it’s a silly way to get that job done and an unwise use of taxpayer dollars.”
Others were reluctant to accept help.
“Our DC National Guard should return back to their families, back to their full-time jobs. This show of force is unnecessary,” said Tom Donohue, an advisory neighborhood commissioner for part of southeastern Anacostia.
But he added, “I’d rather them do something if they’re required to be here, than stand around and do nothing.”
Anacostia, where Donohue is based, is statistically one of the highest-crime areas in Washington – roughly one-third of homicides in the past year occurred in Ward 8, which encompasses part of his region. He said National Guardsmen were nowhere to be found in his district.
National Guard sees ‘alarm and indignation’ on social media
The DC National Guard’s own assessment of social media posts about the deployment also found that relationships with community members have been rocky.
An internal media review by the DC National Guard and sent accidentally to USA TODAY and other outlets found that social media discussions of the deployment mentioned “Fatigue, confusion, and demoralization – ‘just gardening,’ unclear mission, wedge between citizens and the military.” The assessment was first reported by the Washington Post.
According to the Army, the media review emails were mistakenly sent to reporters, but the information in them is publicly available.More: War on weeds? Leaf-blowing, mulch-shoveling National Guard get green thumbs in DC parks
“Trending videos show residents reacting with alarm and indignation,” according to the assessment. It says “self-identified veterans and active-duty commenters expressed shame and alarm” about the reactions.
One DC National Guard member told USA TODAY that frustration is growing among their ranks. As a resident of the city, he sees the deployment as unnecessary, but he is compelled by lawful orders to stay the course, the soldier said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
When it came to beautification efforts, some leaders warmly welcomed the help. John Adams, a commissioner for a district in Ward 7, on the eastern side of the city, said the community would “invite and embrace” help with beautification. “We appreciate the support,” he said.
In Ward 8, which encompasses Donohue’s district, troops have already been assigned to help with food distribution at a soup kitchen, according to Donohue and a National Guard member with knowledge of the deployment.
For Donohue, a one-on-one discussion with Hunt and a later meeting with his constituents further complicated his decision. The community is “very split” on whether to accept the help, he said.
“They are our neighbors,” he said. “If they have to be here, why not utilize them?”
After all, was a helping hand so different if it came from a soldier?
